The energy and environmental sectors are still abuzz with the ambitious carbon neutrality plan announced by Beijing almost a month ago. Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China would double down on its climate commitments and reduce its massive carbon footprint to net zero emissions by just 2060. At the U.N. general assembly, Xi announced that in addition to this extremely ambitious goal, his country would also reach peak emissions in just a decade, by 2030. While the rhetoric around this decision is largely based on climate change and reducing negative environmental externalities, however, the target set by China may actually have more to do with China’s energy security than anything else. “Debate over energy policy in China centers around the country’s resilience against supply chain uncertainties,” World Politics Review reported last week, referring to energy security as China’s “fundamental domestic objective.” Supporting this assertion, earlier this year the […]